Comic Con has vanished for another year – the exclusive content, the cosplayers, the unfulfilled hopes of seeing boob, they’ve been packed up and put in a He-Man lunch box until next year. If your nerd on has not be sated with this year’s installment or, like us, you’re forbidden to attend and need something else to keep you busy, why not try some of these nerd pastimes, guaranteed to feature at least one person who knows what an Infinity Gem is.

LARPing

The world of LARP is the most amazing thing on Earth if you stop being an adult. You can’t and so you’ll never agree that LARP is amazing to the extent LARPers think it is, but if you could, or if you could be 11 again, you would love it. LARP stands for Live Action Role Play and basically it’s everything you thought was awesome when you were 11, but not with the funding and organization you can access as an adult to back it up. Do you like Tue Blood? Conan the Barbarian? World of Warcraft? Lord of the Rings? Why settle for the 2 dimensional versions of all of these when you can make an elaborate costume, assume a persona and immerse yourself in a LARP version, out in a forest somewhere, with others who are willing to share the fantasy? It’s playing pretend on a grand scale and yes, it’s as terrifying as it sounds (unless you think it’s awesome, then it’s as awesome as it sounds). Whatever way yu look at it, it is definitely as nerdy as it sounds.

Dozens of LARP groups exist al around the country, and around the world, which are only a desperate Google away for those who want to escape the daily grind and pretend to be a troll for an afternoon. Imagine the thrill of cosplay but with roleplaying and the out of doors tossed in. Yes. Imagine that.

Other Cons

So you missed comic con? Fear not, there are 1,187 more cons in the US alone each and every year. I made that number up, but it’s probably not far off. If you check this list on Wikipedia which links off to other pages featuring cons of different genres, odds are you’ll find something to appeal to every nerd you’ve ever met.

Why so many cons? That’s easy enough – nerds have money and they like to pay for nerd stuff which is plentiful. Meeting their favorite and/or obscure sci fi celebrities is always a big draw and you know Jason Moamoa isn’t up to much right now, so if there’s a con in the town he’s in, why not get him to show up? Plus, let’s be honest, how much large scale entertainment is geared towards nerds? Cities build stadiums and concert venues for big musical acts and sports teams that often appeal in no way to the geek crowd. Theme parks and most other outdoor events are also, you know, social outdoor events. You can’t expect shut ins to enjoy that. No, the con is the natural habitat of the nerd and they need them as surely as a jock needs a tailgate party before a Browns game to get into it.

The MMO Universe

10 years ago the prospect of a massively multiplayer online game was boner fodder for only the grandest of no-life nerds. “Normal” people would have mocked you for having no life. And then World of Warcraft crushed those criticisms like so many level three murlocs under the feet of an all powerful level 85 Druid. Yeah, nerd sentence.

In 2012 there are literally hundreds of MMOs to choose from. World of Warcraft is still the granddaddy of them all and to it have been added the likes of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Everquest, DC Universe Online, Final Fantasy 14 and soon Elder Scrolls Online, sure to be a big one. These games have massive economies, massive communities and massive subscribers. WoW still boasts subscription numbers above 10 million which is kind of insane and dwarfs a few countries in the world.

So for those who fear the harsh light of day under which Comic Con is taking place, there’s always the virtual world of any number of MMOs that can keep you warm at night (provided you keep your laptop actually in your lap). You can still socialize with numerous other people who share your particular interest and you may even find love as it’s not unheard of for people to meet and even get married all thanks to an MMO. Not that you want to brag about your WoW themed wedding or anything, but whatever.

Become a Furry

Nerds are traditionally a marginalized group in society. Look at Revenge of the Nerds, that’s about fighting against that marginalization and it’s from the 1980s. It stands to reason that those same nerds should be able to embrace another marginalized group and few people anywhere are more marginalized than furries, due mostly to their creepiness.

Like cosplayers, durries enjoy dressing up, except it tends to be in a more anthropomorphic and weird way and, despite what many furries insist, it does tend to have a more sexual aspect to it. How do I know this? I have Google. Still, if you can resist the criminal sexuality aspect that so many furries don’t, is it any difference than cosplay? Yes. But it’s more like cosplay than just dressing lie yourself, so there you go. Just please, don’t have sex with dogs or in public or whatever. Go on, Google it. You’ll see.